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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28019136">In another world, in another place</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysV/pseuds/mysV'>mysV</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Kanan (Comics), Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Author Is Sleep Deprived, F/M, Family Feels, Hurt/Comfort, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Meet-Cute, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:48:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,283</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28019136</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysV/pseuds/mysV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of Depa/Grey AUs One Shots.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>CC-10/994 | Grey &amp; Kanan Jarrus, Depa Billaba &amp; Kanan Jarrus, Depa Billaba &amp; Kanan Jarrus &amp; Mace Windu, Depa Billaba &amp; Vokara Che, Depa Billaba/CC-10/994 | Grey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Zombie Apocalypse</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Since this ship lives rent free in my mind, I decided to do something useful with my imagination and writing some very needed AUs for them.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/>
<p>The gun is trained on the space directly between Grey’ brows, Depa's aim holding steady even as she stares down her partner and friend. The man stares back, brown eyes wet with pain and regret. One hand clutches his shoulder, the raw wound below it dripping red between his tanned fingers.</p>
<p>This was so fucked up. To get bitten now, when they were merely a day's travel from safety, from the ships that had been reported on the radio for weeks, ready to bring any survivors that could make it off continent, back to civilization.</p>
<p>Every fucking horror they'd dealt with to get here, all the people they'd gained and lost, and Grey has endured it all since they left the city, him and his family. Which was just as much in shit now. Done in by his own wife, who would have thought, one last love bite to seal their relationship.</p>
<p>Caleb who was hiding in the bathroom, had been silent as a lamb for the whole day. Probably just as traumatized as the rest of them, perhaps he'd have a better chance at recovery since he was still so young. Or maybe it'd just fuck him up for life, that was probably more realistic.</p>
<p>He couldn't bother with fanciful thinking anymore, it was the optimistic ones who got chewed up and spit out in this world, with their minds gone and a taste for more to boot. Whatever got the kid to shut up right now, he was grateful for it, there were too many dead walking around here for Depa to fight them off alone just because they heard their kid's crying</p>
<p>If only the situation had been a bit less tragic, he could have laugh at Caleb’s behavior. Nor him nor Depa could have soothe him enough to shut him up during his first weeks of life, and now there he was, hiding in a bathroom and still as a rock. It was hard enough getting away the first time, they were lucky for the feeding frenzy that had stirred up with a fresh kill a couple meters behind them, keeping the mass occupied long enough to get away from the road and into this little half-wrecked house so they could take a break from running to think up a plan that had lasted four seconds.</p>
<p>The bite mark wasn't exactly hard to miss, with how much blood had gushed from it when they were running, pumping blood worsening the scene, and Grey hadn't been trying to fucking hide it. No one did anymore, they all knew someone who had tried and ended up killing someone a day later, half the time their own loved ones, the only people willing to keep caring for them.</p>
<p>Grey would never do that, he cared too much about his family, brothers, friends, everyone around him, he just cared too fucking much. It had lead to some fights in the past, with all the idiots roaming around too dumb to know how not to get in trouble you needed to practice some discretion about who you helped out.</p>
<p>Now, well, at least he’d only risked his own life this time, not that it made it any better to see him covered in his own blood than that of some guy who couldn’t defend himself you put him up against a single zombie with an assault rifle in hand. Point was, even if he could get away with it, Grey wasn’t going to resist what was coming. They both knew it was a possibility from the beginning that one of them would get taken down before they could get out of this hell. Between a bullet to the skull and who knows how long shuffling around with no thoughts other than how to best chow down on your loved ones, it wasn’t hard to make a choice.</p>
<p>It was better to die by human hand than zombie’s poison; that was the agreement they came to. An agreement that they had hoped to never have to fulfill, but one they were prepared to if the time came.</p>
<p>And Depa was prepared, she’d done this before, always the serene voice of reason when stuff like this happened, the one to point out the risks, more than once the one who ended up with a freshly, shot gun in hand and a body on the ground in front of her. It wasn’t even hard, not for her, she rarely ended those nights sitting alone, wallowing in her depression, not like some of the people they’d picked up.</p>
<p>Those were the ones who usually ended up dead themselves a few weeks later, just as often by their own hand as by hers. She was hesitating now, though. Yeah, it made sense, this was her husband, the man she’d gone through so much with in the last years, the father of her only child, but that didn’t stop Depa from berating herself. There’d been blood on her hands long before everything went down, and now she had killed a couple dozen more, indirectly and not.</p>
<p>That wasn’t a problem, she didn’t care about what she needed to do to survive, but that was the key, what she’d been holding onto to get her through life without messing it up. She did what kept her alive and justified most of the ruthless decisions she’d made in her life by that rule. If she couldn’t shoot now all of that crumbled. There shouldn’t be any difference between Grey and a stranger, she’d made this choice so many times it should be automatic. Grey was going to die, there was no helping him, and if he died he would come back within minutes and start to attack.</p>
<p>All it would take was one bullet. One bullet and he would only have to die once, without so much pain, and without the danger to Caleb and her.</p>
<p>Steeling herself, Depa steadied the finger that had begun to tremble on the trigger. Grey was listing sideways, eyes unfocused, the grip on his arm weakening. He only had perhaps minutes left before he would be gone.</p>
<p>Taking a stabilizing breath, Depa gave Grey a loving look, hoping to convey to him through the haze that would be plaguing him in his final moments the sense of regret she felt at having to perform this duty, before finally allowing herself to pull back the trigger. In the last moment, her eyes squeezed shut. Silence rang in the wake of the shot. Everything went still, like time had paused, before resuming with more enthusiasm than before.</p>
<p>Depa heard unsteady feet outside, the hoard done with its last meal and hoping to find more by following the sound to its source. Not wasting a second, she bolted down the hall to the bathroom, scooping up the little child huddling in the bathtub and rushing through the back door.</p><hr/>
<p>Outside, Sar glanced over the area desperately for signs of life even as she was busy fighting back the pack of zombies that tried to find their way past her. Relief swept through her as she sensed quick movement and turned her head to find Depa running towards her, her braids almost undone, Caleb clutched to her sister chest.</p>
<p>With a last lethal punch, she gave up on taking down all of them and ran towards her family, moving before they could be caught, snatching the gun held loosely in Depa’s hands and unloading it into the few that were following too close for comfort. Depa was out of breath, but Sar didn’t need to wait to speak.</p>
<p>“The others went west” She pointed, specifically to a spot a few streets away “I’ve messaged Mace, he will have them wait for us.” With some trepidation she glanced back the way they’d come, “Is Grey…”</p>
<p>Depa’s hands clenched tighter around Sar's nephew.</p>
<p>“He’s not coming.” She nodded, there was no need to explain further.</p>
<p>“Take Caleb, get to the truck. I’ll circle around, keep you two covered.” With a deep breath Depa started up again in the direction Sar had pointed, keeping an eye out for danger but mostly focusing on keeping her mind empty, knowing her sister would have her back if anything happened.</p>
<p>It was rare that something she did followed her after the fact, but when it did he refused to dwell on it. That was a one way trip to the kind of depression she’d managed to avoid since she left Delhi, the kind that ended with her at the wrong end of her gun.</p>
<p>
  <em>Grey always knew how to help her to get through it. </em>
</p>
<p>She kept running, every step jolted a drifting thought from her head, and she sank into the silence that occupied her instead, allowing nothing through but what was happening immediately around her and where she was going.</p>
<p>
  <strong>.</strong>
</p><hr/>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. (Almost) Domestic Bliss</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The problem with not dating Grey, is that he doesn’t understand they’re not dating.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I will use this note to explain again that English isn't my first language, and I'm really trying to write as correct as possible. Said that, as a Spanish native speaker, I'm completely done trying to understand the differences beetwen "Through" and "Though", so I'm sorry for the almost constant mistakes while writing those two words, and all the similiar ones like "Tough", "Thorough" and so on. </p><p>(English is a funny language till it is not)</p><p>Anyway, my love for this rarepair is bigger than myself or my grammatical mistakes, so I'm back at writing fluffly cheesy nonsense about them. </p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Depa loved her son, she really did, but being all of eight years old, Caleb wasn't quite small apartment material. And it wasn't like they were moving out to something bigger anytime soon.</p><p>She was stuck, watching the ice in her glass of water melt into something that now barely resembled her old dreams. She didn't cry about it; crying was for wimps (She could hear Sar's playful voice saying so at the age of fourteen), and anyway, she didn't think she had any more tears left. She sat there on her bed, her arms wrapped around her knees as she stared out the open window. The humid summer breeze blows through the curtains, a gentle reminder of the world outsite, the one she still have to deal with.</p><p>Of course, sometimes the dealing start inside the walls of her home.</p><p>Caleb poked his head in, his tiny fist clutching old, ugly Chopper. "Mum?" he whispered. "Are you okay?"</p><p>Depa looked at him, at the mud on the hem of his shirt and the leaves in his hair. She had to laugh a little. "Caleb, where have you been, huh?"</p><p>He tried to look as innocent as possible. "I've been building Chopper a house."</p><p>Depa shook her head. "Let's go get washed up."</p><p>"I built it in the bathroom," Caleb replied sheepishly. "Sorry." He added, lowering his gaze.</p><p>Depa rolled her eyes up and took a deep breath. On one hand, the smallest, most accessible apartment she could found. On the other, a total havoc who still needed her more than anyone else in the whole galaxy.</p><p>"Come on" she told Caleb, and the boy reluctantly followed her down the hall.</p><p>At least, Grey could help her to clean the mess.</p><p>
  <em>Grey.</em>
</p><p>The problem with not dating Grey is that he doesn’t understand they’re not dating. He’s always around, helping Caleb with his homework, bringing Depa flowers or milk or food, teaching her son how to build things from scratch, like houses for his toys she later have to clean up.</p><p>Depa sometimes wonders if Grey still has a house, given all the time he spends at theirs, tiny as it was.</p><p>And part of the problem is her, she’ll admit—<em>privately, and only when she’s completely alone</em>—she likes Grey. His smile, his gentleness, and his optimism. If everything was a little easier, Depa would happily be dating him.</p><p>In the reality Depa lives in, she’s too busy. She has Caleb, and two jobs, and a rent to pay. She has Kit and Quinlan coming by, and granted, though they say they’re trying to help, neither of them have much sense of what is too dangerous for Caleb to do.</p><p>She’s getting distracted. This is part of the problem.</p><p>But the point is, Depa is simply too busy to date anyone, not even dear, patient, steady Grey.</p><p>Who just ignores that fact and coax her to come to the beach with him for a moonlight picnic and talk after they stuff themselves on Chinese food. He also ignres that fact when he shows up with tickets to a movie she’d like to see, three of them, and sits next to her while Caleb on her other side and hoard the popcorn.</p><p>Somehow, someway, he was always there for her, for them.</p><p>Every time she turns around it seems like Grey is there with a smile and a kind word. Maybe she would have an easier time making him stop if he was using their closeness to get grabby, but he’s a gentleman. He doesn’t even hold her hand unless she touches him first.</p><p>So, after a rare solo outing made possible by Mace dropping by to check in and then offering to watch Caleb, Depa lets Grey walk her up to the door.</p><p>
  <em>Which is like four steps away from the living room, but the intention is what counts.</em>
</p><p>“I had fun,” he says, and smiles at her, and Depa wonders why she’s been fighting this so hard.</p><p>“Me too,” she says, and starts to lean into him. Grey’s brown eyes go wide, but he doesn’t move away.</p><p>“Kiss him already!” yells Caleb from waist height, just behind the doors, and they jump apart, embarrassed. Depa can help but laugh when she hears Mace lecturing Caleb about not put his nose into grow up people business.</p><p>And is not like Caleb was going to stop doing it, he is the kind of kid who likes to know what is happening around him.</p><p>Anyway, the mood’s broken, and she guess—<em>she is sure</em>—it is for the better.</p><p>“Well,” Depa starts to say, then Grey leans into her, gentle hand on her cheek to still her, and presses his lips softly to hers. Depa clings to her keys and doesn’t move. The mood wasn't as broken as she thought.</p><p>It’s surprisingly natural feeling, kissing Grey, and she doesn’t step back for a long moment. He beams at her again.</p><p>“I told you you’d like dating me.” he says, and Depa laughs. She has enjoyed it.</p><p>She really, really has.</p><p>
  <strong>.</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you very much for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Pacific Rim</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coffee? Really, Depa? I thought it would take more than a Category II to destroy you this badly.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi! Welcome back to the Degrey hell. </p>
<p>This Pacific Rim AU have been in my mind for too long, so I'm glad i could finally post it. Also, the name "Starry Red" for the Jeager was the less dumb I could manage to create, so forgive the silliness of it. </p>
<p>Friendly riminder that English isn't my first language, but I'm trying my best. </p>
<p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>When the Alert Alarm went off signaling new activity in the Breach, it was Starry Red's duty shift.</p>
<p>It was also dinner time.</p>
<p>"Give me a rest" Depa grumbled, sighed and shook her head, grabbing a few more bites before nudging Grey—who was busy trying to figure out what of his food could be eaten in just one bite —and making their way to hangar bay to suit up and get out there.</p>
<p>
  <em>Screw it all, she had even made her favorite tea, the one she'be missing for almost three months, the one Grey was starting to enjoy.</em>
</p>
<p>"Which way is it headed?" Gey asked one of the support crew.</p>
<p>"They're not sure yet," was the response they received, which wasn't a reassuring one. It meant they might be out there for a while, waiting to see if it headed towards their coast, and if it didn't, whether the Jaeger would need to be transported to help out elsewhere. It didn't change anything, regardless.</p>
<p>Grey glanced at Depa, who looked back, the corners of her mouth curving up into a smile like she knew what was going on in his head and found it somehow amusing. Maybe she did; they'd been doing this for years and the <em>hangover</em> seemed to last longer and longer each time.</p>
<p>In their armor, they made their way into the Conn-Pod to begin the process that turned two people and one massive machine into a single entity. Neither of them thought about it much anymore, and neither of them fought it. It was like slipping on your favorite shirt, the one where every piece fit exactly the way you wanted it to.</p>
<p>"Initiating neural handshake."</p>
<p>Flashes of memories, and so many of them were shared because they'd lived them together. Fewer and fewer were from the time before they'd known each other, because that time seem to be far, far away now.</p>
<p>"Neural handshake steady and holding."</p><hr/>
<p>Sometimes, being at war mean sit and wait. Wait for the danger to come, wait for the next battle, wait meanwhile they learn to deal with their own fears and exercise their patience.</p>
<p>So, they waited.</p>
<p>They waited for an attack that might not come, for action that might never materialize. As usual, they received updates from LOCCENT command, but mostly they were left alone because there was nothing to report.</p>
<p>Fortunately, they were used to the silence. </p>
<p>They kept Starry Red where she was, feet planted, at rest because there wasn't anything to patrol for yet, not anything close enough to worry about. Why waste energy when it wasn't necessary? They'll need it later.</p>
<p>But waiting could be just as exhausting. They couldn't sit down while strapped in, and the ability to relax and forget wasn't one either of them had been born with in any great quantity, and when it was your job to stand sentry against enraged Aliens that wanted to destroy your world, you didn't let down your guard much.</p>
<p>However, out here, boredom could be a merciless enemy.</p>
<p>"Want to play cards?" Grey asked.</p>
<p>"Your deck or mine?" Depa replied, delight clear in her voice.</p>
<p>Grey laughed, his good cheer still present. "Mine."</p>
<p>"Deal."</p>
<p>It had started some time ago, in a long cold night spent waiting for a threat that never came. Obviously, the deck was in their minds. The first time, Grey was sure that Depa couldn't keep track of the cards, what had been played and what hadn't, as the deck seemed to have too many trump cards and he figured out she didn't know how to play. It had taken him a few hands before he realized that no, she was just cheating, and not even being subtle about it.</p>
<p>With anyone else, it would have made him angry —<em>Grey know he had had his fair amount of bar's fights, because some people are idiot enough to mess with a hurting man, his booze and his cards deck</em>—but with Depa it only made him laugh . There was no malice in it, after all. She saved that for the Kaiju and, occasionally, for the bureaucrats and politics who tried to stick themselves in where they didn't belong, telling them how to do a job that they would never be capable of doing themselves.</p>
<p>It kept their minds active, playing games even as they kept an eye on the readings and an ear on the channel that linked them back to their support team. It had also taught them that it was possible to hold things back from each other, even in the Drift. Not that they did. Not anything that mattered.</p>
<p>"Kaiju headed your way. Category II. Be prepared."</p>
<p>They straightened up in their harnesses, flexing legs and arms, making sure that everything was working not just in their bodies but in Starry Red's as well. Eyes flicked across the various displays, taking in the information and processing it faster than even they would have thought possible when they first set foot in the conn-pod.</p>
<p>Everything checked out okay, which meant it was just more hurry-up-and-wait until they got word that the Kaiju, which had no name and they can't care less about it anyway. Grey had once suggested that they call all of them Damned Nasty Bastards, but Depa had pointed out that it likely wasn't going to go over well on official reports.</p>
<p>"Why not?" he'd asked. "Afraid that the ones reading it might think we were talking about them?"</p>
<p>Not that he had a problem with authority, exactly. He followed orders when the orders made sense, and when they were given by someone he respected. When no, he preferred to follow his own instincts, his experience and Depa's well know wisdom. </p><hr/>
<p>Depa could feel the tension building in Grey, he was frustrated, almost irritated, tired of inaction, and it was starting to get to him, starting to edge out reason and replace it with anger and the urge to do violence for violence's sake.</p>
<p>She couldn't let that happen. It wasn't that she wasn't frustrated. She was frustrated, disappointed, sad and hungry and her muscles were starting to ache from staying in one place for too long. She had to do something, for her and for their wellbeing's sake. </p>
<p>"Grey"</p>
<p>"Hmm?"</p>
<p>"Let's walk."</p>
<p>There was nowhere to go, nothing to move away from, but they lifted their feet and shifted their arms, one step and then another, pushing through the water as they paced a little ways down the coast and back again.</p>
<p>"How long are they going to leave us out here doing nothing?" Grey growled. His fingers flexed, and Starry Red's with them, ready to lash out at any enemy that had yet to make an appearance anywhere even remotely within striking distance.</p>
<p>"As long as it takes," Depa told him. "It's what we do, and we're good at it." It was a gentle, almost sweet, reminder, but there was nothing yielding in her tone.</p>
<p>Grey could feel the points of the words, the slightly sharp edges, and they set in his skin like barbs, hooked him like a fish, and he had a choice. He could fight against them, or he could allow himself to be reeled in and let her remove them.</p>
<p>There were no words; they didn't need any. They both knew what he would choose every time.</p>
<p>"We're moving you."</p>
<p>The words came from LOCCENT command, the first in hours, and it was a relief. It meant that something was happening. Maybe they would finally get the chance to hit something, to release the pent-up energy that had been building since the alarm sounded half a day ago. It was midnight or a little past, and the world was steeped in inky blackness. It must be overcast; they couldn't see the stars. But it usually was these days, with the atmosphere choked with nuclear fallout.</p>
<p>
  <em>I don't remember the last time I saw stars.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Sometimes, just sometimes, I think Starry Red's name is a joke. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Don't say that, she had saved us more than once. </em>
</p>
<p>Neither of them was entirely sure whose head the thought came from, but as the helicopters flew up and prepared them to be relocated, they both searched their minds for the answer.</p>
<p>It was tempting to try and make up a memory, but somehow this time it didn't seem like much fun. It was another game they played sometimes, when it was just them and their thoughts and what felt like all the time in the world. They'd started by trying to lie to each other, coming up with memories of things that had never really happened, along with ones that had, and making each other guess which was the fabrication. It hadn't taken long, though, before they could feel the falseness of a thing too easily, and had instead started embellishing actual memories, sometimes competing to see who could create the most outlandish, far-fetched memory.</p>
<p>
  <em>Do you think we'll ever do it?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Perhaps.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Soon?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We'll see.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I would love it.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Me too.</em>
</p>
<p>It wasn't a train of thought worth following. It wouldn't lead to anywhere, at least, not to anywhere they could go anytime soon.</p><hr/>
<p>The Kaiju did came, of course it did. </p>
<p>And Depa was more than ready to send it back to where it had crawled out, however, the thing has already hurt her, Grey and Starry Red. </p>
<p>"Bastard," She snarled. They were in no state to pursue the Kaiju, and she was pretty sure that it hadn't gone off to curl up and die somewhere. They'd done damage, a fair amount of damage, but not enough to kill it.</p>
<p>Not enough to end this despetare war.</p>
<p>Grey was hurt. She could feel it. It was his leg, mostly, and up into his hip. The thing had charged them and they hadn't been able to get out of the way. They'd managed to get their fists on it, send a shock through that sent it back into the deep, but she knew without being told that it wasn't completely gone.</p>
<p>His breath hissed as he gritted his teeth, trying to move and shake out the pain, but his leg was Starry Red's leg and it might upset the Jaeger's somewhat precarious balance. She took in the damage reports, analyzing them as objectively as she could with her partner's pain echoing through her body.</p>
<p>They could fight. That's what it came down to. They were hurt, and it would make everything a little more difficult, but they could still fight.</p>
<p>"Grey," she said. "Let me help you."</p>
<p>He hesitated, but everything was easier when they shared it. So he stopped trying to clamp down on the pain, stopped trying to keep it all to himself, and Depa let out a sudden, shuddering breath as it settled into her own skin.</p>
<p>"Thank you," she said, and wondered if anyone other than a Jaeger pilot could ever understand why she would say such a thing.</p>
<p>"Coming up again on the left!"</p>
<p>The Kaiju hadn't retreated back to the Breach. It had only taken a little time to regroup and now it was back.</p>
<p>They raised their fists, plunging them into the water where the kaiju was coming in low, aiming for their already injured leg. The jolt they sent through it stopped its advance, sent it into retreat, its trajectory wobbly. This time, though, they followed.</p>
<p>This time they would make sure that it didn't get away.</p><hr/>
<p>Dawn lightened around them again, signaling a new day, and it would be a day with one less monster in the world if they had any say in the matter.</p>
<p>The sun crept over the horizon, the thing stopped moving. Maybe it was just too stunned to do so, but they made quick work of ensuring the kill, and sagged back in their harnesses as much as they would allow and still keep Sterry Red upright.</p>
<p>Grey was so sore he think he would sleep a week straight.</p>
<p>Depa feel absolutely numb, sleepy, her eyelids heavy and her body drained out.</p>
<p>They been connected to each other mind for 17 hours. Their longest Drift, to that momment, had been <em>only</em> nine hours. Grey longest drift with Styles had been six hours, Depa last drift with Mace had been almost eight hours long. </p>
<p>And even through, theirs wasn't the longest Drift on record, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi hold that mark with a 23 hours in the Neural Handshake. Luminara and Gree also are famous for their 20 hours Drift, and for the fact they could keep themselves steady after it. Rex and Cody are also there with a Drift that lasted for 19 hours. </p>
<p>None of those stadistics matter now, the looks on their faces as they turned to each other were exhausted elation. They waited for their recovery team as they watching the sky paint itself in the pale shades of dawn.</p><hr/>
<p>"To medical, immediately." Vokara Che, the Chatterdome Chief Medic, told as soon as the they put a foot on the platform.</p>
<p>They shook their heads, the action as simultaneous as it would have been if they were still in the Drift.</p>
<p>"We'll do post-mission checklist, first." Depa said.</p>
<p>"Your crew can do it."</p>
<p>"We'll do it," Grey told him. "We always do it."</p>
<p>"Listen here you two, you've been out there for—"</p>
<p>"Seventeen hours," Depa said. "Vokara, we know. Don't worry, we're fine."</p>
<p>They weren't anything close to fine, and they did need medical attention for the injuries they sustained, but they weren't interested in being experiment on. Mostly, they were interested in food, water and rest. But first they had a Jaeger to attend to. They trusted their crew, but it still felt wrong to just walk away from ii without their usual post-op check.</p>
<p>Which is how they ended up drinking coffee —<em>Coffee? Really, Depa? I thought it would take more than a Category II to destroy you this badly</em>—and devouring bread while sitting at the feet of Starry Red, handing each other tools without being asked, knowing each other's next moves without so much as a glance. It wasn't the first time, but when they finally did catch each other's eyes, it wasn't difficult to guess what the other was thinking.</p>
<p>
  <em>Is this how it's going to be now?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Seem so.</em>
</p>
<p>Tiredness finally won out, and they retreated to their quarters without bothering to stop in medical first. And Depa feared Kaijus, but Vokara's stern gaze struck fearand respect into hearts of men, Depa wasn't willing to argue with her. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, she knew Vokara worries for all of them, and want to keep them alive as much as they want to defeat the Kaijus once and for all. She'll say sorry to her, maybe tomorrow, after Grey and her get some sleep. </p><hr/>
<p>Once in their shared room, they undressed and dropped into bed, settling into and against and around each other in the way that had long since become habit.</p>
<p>"I remember," Depa said.</p>
<p>Grey smiled. "That's good." </p>
<p>She traced her fingers through his short hair, gentle caresing his temple, softly kissing his cheek. "Dream it with me."</p>
<p>"With you, De? Always."</p>
<p>Neither of them had any doubt that he would.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>.</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for reading! </p>
<p>If you have any idea for those AU, you can share it with me if you want :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Meet Cute</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Can I help you?” She asked, her voice soft and accented, tinted with amusement.</p><p>Holy shit.</p><p>Grey’s brain was running on fumes, he was not prepared for this.</p><p>“Uh,” He responded eloquently, blinking owlishly which made the woman let out a gentle chuckle. “Sorry. It’s…uh...It’s been a long week. I’m not thinking at all.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm more stuck in this ship that the Ever Given in the Suez Canal.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<hr/><p>Grey had had the most awful week in the history of awful weeks.</p><p>It was a fucking trainwreck. Perhaps he isn’t an expert at the topic, but he’s pretty sure the amount of hours he had been working were illegal. Or if it wasn’t, it should be because it was nothing short of inhumane.</p><p>He was exhausted, drained and cold. His joints hurt, his neck was tense, his head ached, his eyes burned and he couldn’t feel his feet anymore. He needed a nice, hot cup of coffee.</p><p>
  <em>Or a drink, but if he sip a bit of alcohol right now, he would pass out on the spot.</em>
</p><p>He just wanted to go home and sleep for the foreseeable future but he was out of coffee at home and he didn’t want to stop at the grocery, so he ducked into the tiny little coffee shop near his place, feeling grateful when the heat of the store engulfed him.</p><p>Thankfully, the place wasn’t packed - it was almost midnight on a Thursday, he supposed people would rather be already sleeping in their nice beds than a coffee shop. He joined the short line and ordered a cup of Black Coffee. He leaned against the counter, his eyes drifting to the woman who was ahead of him.</p><p>Grey’s eyes did a full once-over, taking in her thick braids, brown hair and slender shoulders. He observed the woman’s pretty nose, fine jaw and plump lips. Lips that were pulled into a smile. His eyes trailed upwards and he startled slightly when warm brown eyes met his. He blushed when he realized that he had blatantly been gazing her and she has noticed it.</p><p>
  <em>Well, her loose brown sweater seem to be comfy, at the very least.</em>
</p><p>“Can I help you?” She asked, her voice soft and accented, tinted with amusement.</p><p>Holy shit.</p><p>Grey’s brain was running on fumes, he was not prepared for this.</p><p>“Uh,” He responded eloquently, blinking owlishly which made the woman let out a gentle chuckle. “Sorry. It’s…uh...It’s been a long week. I’m not thinking at all.”</p><p>“I can see that. No offense, but you look like you’re about to drop.” The stranger teased and Grey nodded in agreement.</p><p>“I just might,” He conceded as the barista slid a cup of tea over, the name Depa written on the side. The stranger - <em>Depa</em> - picked it up quickly. The aroma reached Grey and for a second he regretted ordering coffee instead before he remembered never had liked tea.</p><p>“So,” Depa continued to speak as she held her cup in both hands. “How come you’re here this late at night, looking like you’re about to die, rather than at a home playing videogames or whatever it is teenagers do now?”</p><p>“Teenager!” Grey sputtered, indignantly. “I’m twenty-six! I do not look like a teenager!”</p><p>
  <em>He doesn’t, he know the doesn’t, the long, fading scar he had on his face a nice reminder he had been nor innocent nor a nice looking guy since he was like fourteen.</em>
</p><p>Depa laughed, her gaze lowering “Oh, I know. I just wanted to make sure you were old enough.”</p><p>“Old enough for what?” Grey frowned, then took his cup of coffee from the counter where the barista placed it. </p><p>“For you to be here this late and on your own, there is always someone who need help, after all.”</p><p>The stranger’s words became background noise as Grey went looking for sugar to put into his cup only to realize there was no more of it. His throat clenched with a sob.</p><p>It was utterly ridiculous, it was unreasonable and he knew that, but he felt his lower lip wobble as tears blurred his vision.</p><p>
  <em>Man up already! God, man up already. </em>
</p><p>Grey knew crying over someone using the last of sugar was insane. His father, uncles, brothers and cousins will tease him forever if they knew. Hell, some of them could stop talking to him forever if they knew.</p><p>
  <em>There was no need to cry.</em>
</p><p>It’s just, he supposed, that this was the drop that filled the bottle. His entire week was dreadful and this was just the thing that pushed him over the edge.</p><p>A whimper left his lips as his tears slid down his cheeks as he dropped the cup back onto the counter.</p><p>“Oh!” He heard Depa mutter behind him and then she was in his face, worry on her dark eyes. “Are you sure you okay? Do you need to sit?”</p><p>Grey shook his head, trying to stop crying but he couldn’t. Fucking hell, fuck it all, he just had to make a fool of himself in front of the woman, didn’t he?</p><p>“It’s not - I’m - I-” He tried to explain himself but he couldn’t choke out any words over the lump in his throat. He covered his face in shame as he tried to cry as quietly as he could.</p><p>“Look, Grey, is it? I’m going to hold you, okay? Are you okay with that?” Depa asked, sounding so concerned that Grey nodded.</p><p>Soon enough, steady arms wrapped around him and he pushed his face into her shoulder, her braids tickling his cheek. He inhaling the scent of the brown sweater she was wearing, smelling cinnamon and something like cloves.</p><p>It was comforting.</p><p>“Shh, it’s okay, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Depa soothed, her hands rubbing up and down Grey’s back. He eventually managed to calm himself down, pulling back and wiping his tears away once he had managed to get his emotions under control.</p><p>Grey was still looking like he had kicked a puppy and the entire thing was so ridiculous that he had to laugh.</p><p>“Grey,” Depa began, looking at him like he had lost his mind - which was fair. “Do I need to call someone? For them to come here and help you?”</p><p>“No! No, fuck, sorry. I didn’t mean to-” He gestured vaguely to himself. “Lose it like that. It’s just been a really rough week for me. Also, I’m fucking exhausted and my mind isn’t exactly working because I wouldn’t cry over sugar and embarrass myself in front of strangers”</p><p>He felt himself flush as Depa laughed. Softly.</p><p>
  <em>God, everything about her seem to be so soft. </em>
</p><p>“Well, I suppose now I have my answer,” She noted.</p><p>“Your answer?”</p><p>Depa nodded patiently. “You really weren’t kidding when you said your mind wasn’t working, were you?”</p><p>“I’ve had a long week,” Grey swatted half-hearted. He shook his head, blinking rapidly to ward of the tiredness.</p><p>“Do you live far from here?” She asked, worried that Grey wouldn’t make it home in his state. When she came back to the shop and tell Obi-Wan, her friend and cafeteria's barista, that she just walked a man through the street, he was going to lose his mind. However, this young lad clearly need help.</p><p>“No, just around the corner,” Grey responded, rubbing his eyes with his fist. He looked like a child and Depa felt her lips quirking in amusement.</p><p>“Lead the way then,” Depa gestured and Grey blinked at her in confusion.</p><p>“You don’t have to walk me home,” He frowned, stifling another yawn. “I’ll be fine.”</p><p>“I’m heading in that direction, anyways,” Depa informed him as they turned the corner. “Besides, I’m mildly concerned that you’re going to fall asleep on yourself before you even make it to your place.”</p><p>“Am not,” Grey muttered petulantly before taking another sip of his tea. He allowed her to walk the short distance with him, though, so Depa counted it as a win.</p><p>“Well, this is it” He said, standing in front of his building.</p><p>“I see,” Depa hummed, nudging Grey slightly. “Go to sleep. Take care of yourself.”</p><p>“Okay,” Grey agreed, smiling. He didn’t dare to leaned in, get close to her, but he was as grateful as a save man could be. “Thanks for earlier and for walking me home and...everything you did, thanks.”</p><p>“Anytime,” Depa returned his smile.</p><p>Grey made his way up the stairs and into his place. When he got to his room, he peeked out his window just in time to see Depa’s retreating form. It was so late, and he was a man and she was woman, and still, she seem to be stronger than anyone else he has ever met as she walked away.</p><p>Tomorrow, he thought, the was going to the cafeteria tomorrow in hopes to see her again.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>.</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sup' guys! Welcome back to the rainbow dumpster where I throw up my feelings, I hope you liked this little chapter.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi! Thank you very much for reading and sorry for the angst. </p>
<p>Remember that I taking prompts for this fic, so if you have any AU idea you would like to share with me, feel free to do so :)</p>
<p>You can find me in Tumblr as <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/kanaima">Kanaima</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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